UW–Madison is organized into 20 schools and colleges, which enrolled 29,504 undergraduate, 9,430 graduate, and 2,526 professional students and granted 6,494 bachelor's, 3,560 graduate and professional degrees in 2012-2013.[4] The University employs over 21,727 faculty and staff.[4] Its comprehensive academic program offers 132 undergraduate majors, along with 149 master's degree programs and 120 doctoral programs.[3]

The university had its official beginnings when the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature in its 1838 session passed a law incorporating a "University of the Territory of Wisconsin", and a high-ranking Board of Visitors was appointed. However, this body (the predecessor of the U.W. board of regents) never actually accomplished anything before Wisconsin was incorporated as a state in 1848.[11] The Wisconsin Constitution provided for "the establishment of a state university, at or near the seat of state government..." and directed by the state legislature to be governed by a board of regents and administered by a Chancellor. On July 26, 1846, Nelson Dewey, Wisconsin's first governor, signed the act that formally created the University of Wisconsin. John H. Lathrop became the university's first chancellor, in the fall of 1849.[12] With John W. Sterling as the university's first professor (mathematics), the first class of 17 students met at Madison Female Academy on February 5, 1849. A permanent campus site was soon selected: an area of 50 acres (20.2 ha) "bounded north by Fourth lake, east by a street to be opened at right angles with King street," [later State Street] "south by Mineral Point Road (University Avenue), and west by a carriage-way from said road to the lake." The regents' building plans called for a "main edifice fronting towards the Capitol, three stories high, surmounted by an observatory for astronomical observations."[13] This building, University Hall, now known as Bascom Hall, was finally completed in 1859. On October 10, 1916, a fire destroyed the building's dome, which was never replaced. North Hall, constructed in 1851, was actually the first building on campus. In 1854, Levi Booth and Charles T. Wakeley became the first graduates of the university, and in 1892 the university awarded its first PhD to future university presidentCharles R. Van Hise.[14]

Research, teaching, and service at the UW is influenced by a tradition known as "the Wisconsin Idea," first articulated by UW–Madison President Charles Van Hise in 1904, when he declared "I shall never be content until the beneficent influence of the University reaches every home in the state."[15] The Wisconsin Idea holds that the boundaries of the university should be the boundaries of the state, and that the research conducted at UW–Madison should be applied to solve problems and improve health, quality of life, the environment, and agriculture for all citizens of the state. The Wisconsin Idea permeates the university’s work and helps forge close working relationships among university faculty and students, and the state's industries and government.[16] Based in Wisconsin's populist history, the Wisconsin Idea continues to inspire the work of the faculty, staff, and students who aim to solve real-world problems by working together across disciplines and demographics.[17]

Over time, additional campuses were added to the university. The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee was created in 1956, and UW–Green Bay and UW–Parkside in 1968. Ten freshman-sophomore centers were also added to this system.[19] In 1971, Wisconsin legislators passed a law merging the University of Wisconsin with the nine universities and four freshman-sophomore branch campuses of the Wisconsin State Universities System, creating the University of Wisconsin System and bringing the two higher education systems under a single board of regents.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, UW–Madison was shaken by a series of student protests, and by the use of force by authorities in response, comprehensively documented in the film The War at Home. The first major demonstrations protested the presence on campus of recruiters for the Dow Chemical Company, which supplied the napalm used in the Vietnam War. Authorities used force to quell the disturbance. The struggle was documented in the book, They Marched into Sunlight,[20] as well as the PBS documentary Two Days in October.[21] Among the students injured in the protest was current Madison mayor Paul Soglin.

Another target of protest was the Army Mathematics Research Center (AMRC), located in Sterling Hall, which was also home of the physics department. The student newspaper, The Daily Cardinal, published a series of investigative articles stating that AMRC was pursuing research directly pursuant to US Department of Defense requests, and supportive of military operations in Vietnam. AMRC became a magnet for demonstrations, in which protesters chanted "U.S. out of Vietnam! Smash Army Math!"

The four year, full-time undergraduate instructional program is classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as "arts and science plus professions" with a high graduate coexistence; admissions are characterized as "more selective, lower transfer-in."[7] The largest university college, the College of Letters and Science, enrolls approximately half of the undergraduate student body and is made up of thirty-nine departments and five professional schools[29] that instruct students and carry out research in a wide variety of fields, such as astronomy, economics, geography, history, linguistics, and zoology. The graduate instructional program is classified by Carnegie as "comprehensive with medical/veterinary." In 2008, it granted the third largest number of doctorates in the nation.[7][30]

UW–Madison was ranked 11th among national universities (with three institutions tied) by the Center for Measuring University Performance in its 2007 report, with rankings based on objective statistics on research, faculty awards, student qualifications, and university assets. Of 38 programs at the UW–Madison that were included in the National Research Council's 1995 study, 16 ranked in the top 10 nationally.[43][44] In 2007, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that 57 disciplines at the UW–Madison were in the top 10 in the U.S. in scholarly productivity, which placed it second after UC–Berkeley in the number of top ten programs.[45] The UW placed 30th among national universities in Washington Monthly's 2009 rankings, which consider community service and social mobility, as well as research productivity.[46] In 2009, UW–Madison was ranked 6th in the TrendTopper MediaBuzz rankings by the Global Language Monitor.[47] In 2011, the Global Language Monitor increased the ranking to 1st in Internet Media Buzz.[48]

UW–Madison was a founding member of the Association of American Universities.[60] In 2009, the school received $952 million in research funding, placing it third in the country.[61] Its research programs were also fourth in the number of patents issued in 2010.[62] The University's research programs were ranked fourth in federally funded research and second in nonfederally funded research among U.S. public universities in 2009.[63]

The University of Wisconsin is a participant in the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, the academic consortium of the universities in the Big Ten Conference and the University of Chicago. The initiative is a research partnership that involves faculty and staff networking, cooperative purchasing, course sharing, professional development programs, study abroad, diversity initiatives for students and faculty, and sharing of library resources and information technology.[64][65][66]

The University of Wisconsin–Madison is one of 33 sea grant colleges in the United States. These colleges are involved in scientific research, education, training, and extension projects geared toward the conservation and practical use of U.S. coasts, the Great Lakes and other marine areas.

The University maintains almost 100 research centers and programs, ranging from agriculture to arts, from education to engineering.[67] It has been considered a major academic center for embryonic stem cell research ever since UW–Madison professor James Thomson became the first scientist to isolate human embryonic stem cells. This has brought significant attention and respect for the University's research programs from around the world. The University continues to be a leader in stem cell research, helped in part by the funding of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and promotion of WiCell.[68]

Its center for research on internal combustion engines, called the Engine Research Center, has a five-year collaboration agreement with General Motors.[69] It has also been the recipient of multi-million dollar funding from the federal government.[70]

The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences fulfills the UW–Madison’s mission as a land-grant university, which dates back to 1862, when Congress passed legislation to establish a national network of colleges devoted to agriculture and mechanics and Wisconsin received 240,000 acres of allotted federal land.[72] In 1885 the university began offering a winter course for farmers, the Agriculture Short Course, which was greatly developed and enhanced by Ransom Asa Moore from 1895 until 1907 and continues today as the Farm and Industry Short Course. In 1889 the university put all of their agricultural offerings under a new College of Agriculture, with W.A. Henry as dean.[72] Professors listed in the 1896 Agricultural Short Course for the College of Agriculture at the University of Wisconsin–Madison listed popular professors such the Dean of the College of Agriculture, Prof. W.A. Henry (Feeds and Feeding), Prof. S.M. Babcock (Agricultural Chemistry; Farm Dairying), Prof. F.H. King (Agricultural Physics, Agricultural Mechanics, and Meteorology), Prof. E.S. Goff (Plant Life, Horticulture, and Economic Entomology), Prof. H.L. Russell (Bacteriology), Prof. J.A. Craig (Breeds: Breeding and Judging Live Stock), Prof. Wm. A. Scott (Economics of Agriculture), Prof. C.I. King (Practical Mechanics), Mr. R.A. Moore (Parliamentary Procedures and Book-keeping), Mr. A.B. Sayles (Farm Dairying), Mr. Fred. Cranefield (Assistant in Green House Instruction), and the previous instructor in Veterinary Science, W.G. Clark, V.S. The building that housed the College of Agriculture was originally created in 1889 and was centered in South Hall on Bascom Hill until the fall of 1903 when the first classes were held in the brand new College of Agriculture and Life Sciences building, where it has remained since.[73] "The college has evolved and grown over the decades to reflect changes in the fabric of society and in the areas of knowledge that it studies. Practical studies related to crop and livestock production and farm life gradually delved deeper as scientists strove to understand the underlying biological processes. Today the college generates new knowledge about agriculture, natural resources management and protection, human health and nutrition, community development and related topics. Faculty and staff in 19 academic departments and a number of interdisciplinary programs carry out these lines of study."[72]

The L&S Honors Program serves over 1300 students in the College of Letters and Science (the UW–Madison's liberal arts college) with an enriched undergraduate curriculum. In addition to its curriculum, the program offers professional advising services; research opportunities and funding; and numerous academic, social and service opportunities through the Honors Student Organization. The Honors Program also supports several student organizations, such as the University of Wisconsin–Madison Forensics Team.

The Wisconsin Institute for Science Education and Community Engagement (WISCIENCE) is a unit that facilitates coordination of science outreach efforts across the university and works to improve science education at all levels.[74]

Located in Madison, about a mile from the state capitol, the main campus of the university is situated partially on the isthmus between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona. The main campus comprises 933 acres (378 ha) of land, while the entire campus, including research stations located throughout the state, is over 10,600 acres (4,290 ha) in area. The central campus is on an urban layout mostly coinciding with the city of Madison's street grid, exceptions being the suburban University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, and the Department of Psychiatry & Clinics in the West Side research park. The University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum, a demonstration area for native ecosystems, is located on the west side of Madison. The main campus includes many buildings designed or supervised by architects J.T.W. Jennings and Arthur Peabody. The hub of campus life is the Memorial Union. In 2011, Travel+Leisure listed the Madison campus as one of the most beautiful college campuses in the United States.[75]

The UW–Madison has its own police force, food service, hospital, recreation facilities, botanical gardens, public artworks, power facilities, and an on-campus dairy plant.

As one of the icons on campus, Bascom Hall,[76] at the top of Bascom Hill, is often considered the "heart of the campus." Built in 1857, a decorative dome that once sat atop the structure was destroyed by fire in 1916. The structure has been added to several times over the years. The building currently houses the office of the chancellor and vice chancellors. Bascom Hall is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing building within the Bascom Hill Historic District.[77]

This Victorian Gothic building, built in 1878 and initially named Assembly Hall, was designed to house an 800-seat auditorium, a library, and a clock tower. Dedicated on March 2, 1880, the building originally held conventions, dances, and commencement ceremonies, along with its primary purpose of a library. After the library moved to a different building on campus, a portion of the hall was assigned to the School of Music in 1900. Shortly after renovations in the early 1900s, the building was officially named Music Hall in 1910. It remains an important music venue and is home to the university opera.[78] This building also is home to the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, with part of the building being used as office space and classrooms.

The George L. Mosse Humanities Building, located on Library Mall, was built in the late 1960s in the Brutalist style. Campus myth has it that the building (with its poor ventilation, narrow windows, inclined base, and cantilevered upper floors) was designed to be "riot-proof" in that it was inescapable by protestors and easily penetratable by a SWAT Team.[citation needed] Its seven floors house the History, Art, and Music departments. The most recent Campus Master Plan calls for it to be demolished and replaced with two other buildings.

Van Hise Hall is home to most of the languages departments of the university[79] and the upper floors house the offices of the University of Wisconsin System's president and its Board of Regents. The building is often humorously touted by campus tour guides as the birthplace of the Elven language spoken in the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.[80]

At 241 feet and 19 stories, Van Hise is the third-tallest building in Madison and one of the tallest educational buildings in the world.[81] Because of its placement atop Bascom Hill it towers over the State Capitol as the building with the highest elevation in the city. Van Hise Hall was constructed in 1967 and its destruction is slated for sometime around 2025 as part of the university's campus master plan.[82]

Home of the Wisconsin School of Business, Grainger Hall was built in 1993. In 2008 it underwent a major renovation and addition to assist the 12 MBA specialization programs that were housed there.[83] The addition occupies the corner of Park Street and University Avenue, projecting the school’s crest outward in a location that once housed a bank.[84]

Grainger Hall also houses an array of student-run organizations, both undergraduate and graduate. There are major-specific organizations as well as organizations that welcome all students. Several of the clubs are Madison chapters of nationwide organizations, others are honor societies that require a minimum grade point average, while some exist simply to network with other students.

The Memorial Union as seen from the Library Mall on the UW–Madison campus

The University of Wisconsin–Madison has two student unions. The older, Memorial Union, was built in 1928 to honor American World War I veterans. Also known as the Union or the Terrace, it has gained a reputation as one of the most beautiful student centers on a university campus. Located on the shore of Lake Mendota, it is a popular spot for socializing among both students and the public, who enjoy gazing at the lake and its sailboats. The union is known for the Rathskeller, a German pub adjacent to the lake terrace. Political debates and backgammon and sheepshead games over a beer on the terrace are common among students. The Rathskeller serves "Rathskeller Ale", a beer brewed expressly for the Terrace. Memorial Union was the first union at a public university to serve beer.[85]

Hoofer Badger Sloops on Lake Mendota behind Memorial Union

Memorial Union is home to many arts venues, including several art galleries, a movie theater, the Wisconsin Union Theater, and the Craftshop, which provides courses and facilities for arts and crafts activities. Students and Madison community members alike congregate at the Memorial Union for the films and concerts each week. An advisory referendum to renovate and expand Memorial Union was approved by the student body in 2006, and the university is currently undergoing the expansion.[86]

Union South, the newer campus union, was built in 1971 to better accommodate a growing student enrollment and was demolished in 2008. A new "green" Union South located on the site of the old union opened April 15, 2011. It is a certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold building.[87] The building contains several dining options, an art gallery, climbing wall, bowling alley event spaces, and a hotel.[88][89]

The Wisconsin Union also provides a home for the Wisconsin Union Directorate Student Programming Board (WUD), which provides regular programs for both students and community members. One of the most well-known members of WUD is the Wisconsin Hoofers, a club that organizes outdoor recreational activities.[90]

On May 22, 2012, the Ho-chunk Nation passed a resolution permitting the usage of the name "Dejope" for a new residence hall at the university. Dejope means "Four Lakes" in the Ho-Chunk language, and Native Americans have used this word to describe the Madison area for thousands of years.[91] The residence hall was planned as a symbol of the ongoing cooperative relationship between University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Ho-Chunk nation and the building and its grounds contain imagery of the mounds and lakes in the area. A fire circle in front of the building contains plaques representing all 11 Native American nations in Wisconsin. Images of the four effigy mounds that are located on the campus (Observatory Hill, Willow Drive, Picnic Point and Eagle Heights) are embedded into the flooring of the building's main floor. An acrylic depiction of Lake Mendota is located in the conference room, and another artwork of glass and metal depicting the Four Lakes is located in the East Hall.

A view of the Wisconsin State Capitol from atop Bascom Hill. The Mosse Humanities building is on the right, Wisconsin Historical Society (fore) and Memorial Library (rear) on the left.

The University of Wisconsin–Madison has the 12th largest research library collection in North America.[92] More than 40 professional and special-purpose libraries serve the campus.[93] The campus library collections include more than 8.3 million volumes representing human inquiry through all of history.[92] In addition, the collections comprised more than 101,000 serial titles, 6.4 million microform items, and over 8.2 million items in other formats, such as government documents, maps, musical scores, and audiovisual materials.[92] Over 1 million volumes are circulated to library users every year.[94] Memorial Library serves as the principal research facility on campus for the humanities and social sciences. It is the largest library in the state, with over 3.5 million volumes.[95] It also houses a periodical collection, domestic and foreign newspapers, Special Collections,[96] the Mills Music Library,[97] a letterpress printing museum,[98] and the UW Digital Collections Center.[99]

Steenbock Memorial Library is the primary library for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, School of Human Ecology, School of Veterinary Medicine, UW-Extension and Cooperative Extension, and Zoology and Botany Departments. The University of Wisconsin–Madison Archives and Records Management Department and Oral History Program are also located in Steenbock Library. The library is named for UW professor Harry Steenbock (1886–1967), who developed an inexpensive method of enriching foods with Vitamin D in the 1920s. This library is open to the public.

Undergraduates can find many of the resources they need at College Library in Helen C. White Hall.[100] Special collections there include Ethnic Studies, Career, Women's, and Gaus (Poetry). The Open Book collection, created to support the extra-academic interests of undergraduates, contains DVDs, audio books, and video games, and paperback books.[101] The library also has a coffee shop, the Open Book Café.[102] College Library houses a media center with over 200 computer workstations, DV editing stations, scanners, poster printing, and equipment checkout (including laptops, digital cameras, projectors, and more).

The Kurt F. Wendt Library[103] serves the College of Engineering[104] and the Departments of Computer Sciences,[105] Statistics,[106] and Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences.[107] In addition to books, journals, and standards, Wendt Library houses over 1.5 million technical reports in print and microfiche. Designated a Patent and Trademark Depository Library, it maintains all U.S. utility, design, and plant patents, and provides reference tools and assistance for both the general public and the UW–Madison community.

Ebling Library for the Health Sciences is located in the Health Sciences Learning Center. It opened in 2004 after the Middleton Library, Weston Library, and Power Pharmaceutical Library merged collections and staff.[108]

The online catalog for UW–Madison Libraries is MadCat.[109] It includes bibliographic records for books, periodicals, audiovisual materials, maps, music scores, microforms, and computer databases owned by over 40 campus libraries, as well as records for items that are on order. The UW–Madison Libraries website provides access to resources licensed for use by those affiliated with UW–Madison, in addition to those openly available on the World Wide Web.

The Chazen Museum of Art, formerly the Elvehjem Museum of Art, maintains a collection of paintings, drawings, sculpture, prints and photographs spanning over 700 years of art.[111]

The university's Zoological Museum maintains a collection of approximately 500,000 zoological specimens, which can be used for research and instruction. A special collection contains skeletons, artifacts, and research papers associated with the Galápagos Islands. Since 1978, the UW–Madison Zoological Museum has been one of only three museums granted permission by the Ecuadoran Government to collect anatomical specimens from the Galápagos Islands.[112]

UW–Madison claims more distinct archaeological sites than on any other university campus.[114] The campus contains four clusters of effigy mound located at Observatory Hill, Willow Drive, Picnic Point and Eagle Heights. These sites, reflecting thousands of years of human habitation in the area, have survived to a greater or lesser degree on campus, depending on location and past building activities. Surviving sites are marked and fenced on the campus, ensuring that they are not disturbed. Wisconsin statutes protect effigy mounds by giving them a five-foot buffer zone.[115][116] The Lakeshore Nature Preserve Committee is endeavoring to “…safeguard beloved cultural landscapes,” through aggressive enforcement of measures for the preservation of such zones and advocating for broader buffers where possible.[117]

2005–2006 marked the first time in school history that four Badger teams won national championships in the same academic year.[119] In the fall, the men's cross country team won its fourth national championship. The winter season was highlighted by the men's and women's ice hockey teams both winning national titles. The year was capped off in the spring with the women's lightweight crew taking its third straight Intercollegiate Rowing Association national crown. In 2008, both men's and women's crew teams claimed national titles.[120]

The Badgers have made 14 consecutive appearances at the NCAA Tournament, with Final Four visits in 2000 and 2014, an Elite Eight appearance in 2005, and a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2011.[126] Badgers' head coach Bo Ryan has coached the team since 2001. The Badgers play at the Kohl Center, where the student fans are known as the Grateful Red. In the 2006–2007 season, the Badgers attained their highest AP ranking in school history (#1 Feb. 19–25), garnering 35 first-place votes.[127] The Badgers' earned their only NCAA National Championship in 1941.

Badger ice hockey first became a men's varsity sport in 1922. Although dropped after the 1934–35 season, it again became a varsity sport in the 1963–64 season. The men's team played in the Dane County Coliseum until moving to the Kohl Center (capacity 15,359) in the fall of 1998. The first ice hockey game played at the Kohl was the Hall of Fame game against the University of Notre Dame. From 1999 to 2012 the men's team led the nation in college hockey attendance, setting an NCAA attendance record (averaging 15,048) during the 2009–10 season, which surpassed their previous record set in 2006–07.[128]

Bob Johnson, nicknamed "Badger Bob" by fans, took over the reins in 1966. Johnson coached the Badger men to three national championships in 1973, 1977 and 1981. Jeff Sauer coached the Badger men to two more titles in 1983 and 1990. Mike Eaves, member of the 1977 NCAA title team, coached the Badger men's team to its sixth national championship in 2006. The six Badger titles rank 4th in NCAA men's ice hockey history.[129] Eaves' 2010 squad advanced to the national championship game during the Badgers' 11th appearance in the men's Frozen Four before bowing to Boston College.

The school's strong ice hockey tradition gained another dimension with the addition of a women's team that began play in the 1999–2000 season. Coached by Mark Johnson, son of "Badger Bob" and another member of the men's 1977 title team, the Badger women won their first NCAA championship on March 26, 2006. The dual 2006 titles marked the first time that both the men's and women's Division I NCAA hockey titles were won by the same school in the same year.[130] The women's team repeated as national champions in 2007 with a victory over the University of Minnesota-Duluth and in 2009 with a victory over Mercyhurst. The team set the NCAA women's hockey attendance record on February 15, 2014 in a game against Minnesota.[131]

The school mascot is an anthropomorphizedbadger named Bucky who dons a sweater affixed with the UW–Madison athletic logo (currently the red "Motion W"). Beginning in 1890, the university's first Bucky Badger was a live, temperamental and unruly badger who was quickly retired. Although the nickname of the Wisconsin teams remained the "Badgers", it was not until Art Evans drew the early caricature version of Bucky in 1940 that today's recognizable image of Bucky was adopted. In 1949, a contest was held to name the mascot, but no consensus was reached after only a few entries were received. In reaction, the contest committee chose the name Buckingham U. Badger, or "Bucky," for short.

At Wisconsin football games in the 1920s live mascots were used to inspire fans. The animals used included a black bear, a bonnet monkey, and live badgers. 1949 was the first year a student sporting a papier-mâché badger head appeared; this subsequently replaced the use of live badgers.[135]

The team's nickname originates from the state nickname. In the 1820s, many lead miners and their families lived in the mines in which they worked until adequate above-ground shelters were built, and thus were compared to badgers.[136]

In 2009, Fulton Market Films produced the documentary Being Bucky which followed the lives of seven Wisconsin students who take on the role of Bucky Badger.[137]Being Bucky won "Best Documentary Film" at the Wisconsin Film Festival and went on to play in local Wisconsin movie theaters.[138]

UW–Madison is also home to one of only two nationally distributed undergraduate international studies journals in the country. The Journal of Undergraduate International Studies (JUIS) is a competitive publication that features peer-reviewed academic articles. It was founded in 2003 by David Coddon with the support of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Leadership Trust.

The University of Wisconsin–Madison campus radio station is WSUM 91.7 FM, "The Snake on the Lake".[144] Historically, UW–Madison has been home to a collection of student run radio stations, a number of which stopped broadcasting after run-ins with the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The current radio station, WSUM, began in 1997 in a webcast only format because of the prolonged battle to get an FCC license and construct a tower. This lasted five years until February 22, 2002, when the station started broadcasting over FM airwaves at 91.7 from its tower in Montrose, Wisconsin. The radio station currently has around 200 volunteer DJs and 8 paid managers. All UW–Madison students, as well as a limited number of community members, are eligible to participate in running the station. WSUM remains entirely free format, which means that the on-air personnel can showcase a large variety of music and talk programming at their discretion with few limitations. WSUM has garnered many awards from the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association for their news, play-by-play broadcasts of Badger athletic events, and unique public service announcements.[145]

In 2010 Wisconsin was named the number three "party school" by Playboy magazine,[146] and number 12 by The Princeton Review.[147] UW–Madison has long held a reputation for academics, political activism, and drinking; the last of these can be understood in the context of the state's traditionally high level of alcohol consumption in general.[148]

On April 13, 2009, MTV premiered the reality seriesCollege Life about the day-to-day lives of eight UW–Madison freshmen.[149] The show was created by UW–Madison alumnus David Wexler.[150] According to MTV,[151] the students did the filming for the series, but not the editing. During production, the university pulled its support of the show. Subsequently, a disclaimer was aired at the beginning of each episode stating that UW–Madison does not endorse the program. Eight episodes aired as of February 22, 2010.

In 2008, UW–Madison had 387,912 living alumni. Although a large number of alumni live in Wisconsin, a significant number live in Illinois, Minnesota, New York, California, and Washington, D.C. UW–Madison also had 15,479 alumni living outside of the United States.[152]

UW–Madison alumni, faculty, or former faculty have been awarded 19 Nobel Prizes and 34 Pulitzer Prizes.[152]

^University of Wisconsin Agronomy Department, the First 100 Years: A Brief History of Agronomy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1903 to 2002, University of Wisconsin–Madison. Dept. of Agronomy, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, 2003, ISBN 0967958741, 9780967958743